TCWD Podcast: Whither Art School

The MFA Crisis in the United States

America’s oldest art school, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, is shutting down its degreed programs, choosing certificate programs over the BFA and MFA standard. Its enrollment has dropped more than 50% in recent years, reflecting the crisis hitting humanities and art departments across the country. It’s unlikely that the problem is fewer people wanting to be artists, read books, and engage with the history of creative expression of the world. Probably the wager of taking on catastrophic amounts of debt in the hopes of one of maybe like three jobs in the art world that comes with health coverage doesn’t seem particularly good in the casino called the United States.

Audio is below or at the usual podcast places. After the paywall, you’ll find show notes and resources and the regular nonsense.

David Clowes